Climate, Culture, and the Future of Wine & Beer

What happens to your favorite wine or beer when the climate that shaped it starts to change?

That question was at the heart of Sips of Change, a dynamic panel at Terra Madre Americas, where UC Davis scientists and an Argentine winemaker came together to talk adaptation, tradition, and what fermented beverages might look like in the decades ahead.

Moderated by Ron Runnebaum, Ph.D., Associate Professor at UC Davis whose work bridges chemical engineering, fermentation, and sustainable winemaking, the panel featured Glen Fox, Ph.D, D.Sc,, Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Malting and Brewing Sciences, Ben Montpetit, Ph.D., Marvin Sands Department Chair and Professor of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis, and Sofía Elena, pioneering winemaker at Contra Corriente Winery in Chubut, Patagonia

Together, they traced fermentation’s ancient roots and its rapidly changing future.

Fermentation Is Ancient. Adaptation Is Nothing New.

Glen Fox opened with a reminder that beer has always been about resilience.

“Brewing goes back about 12,000 years,” he said. “Around 7,000 years ago, when people started making notations on stones, we can actually understand how beer was made.”

Those early brewers didn’t have lab equipment or climate models. They had deep observational knowledge of plants, fermentation, and the environment. 

Beer, Fox reminded the audience, has always been a communal technology: food, drink, and culture evolving together. The difference now? Speed. Climate change is happening faster than traditional knowledge can be passed down.

Terroir Will Change, Wine Will Survive

Ben Montpetit brought the conversation to wine, emphasizing that climate change won’t end winemaking, but it will reshape it.

“Wine has been made for millennia,” he said. “It’s going to keep being made. The real impact is on local terroir.”

As temperatures rise, the grape varieties that define iconic regions may no longer be the best fit. Napa Cabernet, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir won’t disappear overnight, but they may not always thrive where consumers expect them to.

That creates tension. Consumers often want familiar labels and varieties, which puts pressure on growers to hold onto grapes that may no longer make sense agronomically.

“Maybe in a hundred years, it’s going to be different,” Montpetit said. “And that’s okay.”

The challenge isn’t whether wine will exist. It’s whether growers, producers, and consumers can adapt quickly enough.

Patagonia: From Marginal to Promising

For Sofía Elena, climate change isn’t theoretical; it’s personal.

When she began working in Patagonia, long-term climate data barely existed. Today, the changes are unmistakable. There is less precipitation, reduced snowfall, and increasing competition for irrigation water.

Yet Patagonia’s story is also one of opportunity. Once considered too cold for viticulture, the region is now producing elegant, cool-climate wines, gaining international recognition.

“I don’t make a style of wine,” Elena said. “I make whatever I can with what I have.”

That philosophy of working with the land instead of forcing it has guided her approach. She also emphasized the rare chance Patagonia has to grow intentionally, avoiding the industrial shortcuts that have caused environmental problems elsewhere.

“We have the opportunity to keep this a clean wine region,” she said.

Beer’s Biggest Problem? Consistency.

Beer faces a different climate challenge. Consumers expect it to taste exactly the same every time.

“With these generic lagers,” Fox explained, “people notice the slightest change, and they don’t want that.”

Climate-driven disruptions to barley and wheat supplies make it harder to maintain consistency. Ironically, the solution may lie in the past.

Brewers are revisiting ancient and alternative grains, like quinoa and amaranth, that supported fermentation long before industrial monoculture. During Terra Madre, UC Davis even hosted a campus brew day to experiment with these grains.

Brewers, Fox noted, have one advantage over winemakers with flexibility. Recipes can change more easily than vineyards, but only if flavor expectations are met.

New Tools in the Winery

In the vineyard and cellar, innovation is accelerating.

Hotter growing seasons mean grapes with higher sugar and therefore higher alcohol. Winemakers now have tools to respond: alcohol reduction technologies, alternative oak products, liquid tannins, and new fermentation strategies.

Montpetit highlighted the growing role of non-Saccharomyces yeasts, which offer different metabolic pathways and flavor outcomes.

“We often think of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as the wine yeast,” he said. “But now there are many others being used at scale.”

These tools allow winemakers to either preserve traditional styles or embrace entirely new expressions of place.

The Consumer Is Changing, Too

One of the most hopeful moments came when Montpetit talked about shifting consumer tastes.

Years ago, a UC Davis alum could only sell new varieties if buyers also purchased his Cabernet. Now?

“It’s the opposite,” Montpetit said. “They want the new varieties.”

Younger consumers, in particular, are more open to experimentation. And the best-selling wine in America isn’t a prestige bottle, it’s approachable, flavored, and designed for accessibility.

“The industry is moving to meet consumers where they are,” Montpetit said. “And that’s where the opportunity is.”

Research Makes Adaptation Possible

Elena emphasized the importance of research, especially for emerging regions like Patagonia.

“Research is essential,” she said. “We need help understanding what works.”

Institutions like UC Davis play a critical role not just in established wine regions, but in supporting new ones as they develop sustainable practices from the ground up.

Grounded Optimism

Despite the scale of the challenge, the panelists weren’t pessimistic.

Montpetit pointed to students, future winemakers, brewers, and scientists who see climate change not only as a crisis, but as a call to innovate.

Fox put it simply, “Climate does change.” It always has. What’s new is how fast and how urgently adaptation must happen.

Looking Forward

Will California always be defined by Cabernet? Will Patagonia become synonymous with cool-climate Pinot? Will ancient grains reshape beer as we know it?

No one knows for sure. But the path forward is paved with adaptation, research, openness, and collaboration.

As Elena summed it up, “We make whatever we can with what we have. And if we talk to people about it, they will accept it more and more.”

This panel was part of Terra Madre Americas’ educational programming on sustainability and resilience in food systems. To learn more about climate research in wine and brewing, explore the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science’s website. 

Kaylianne Jordan is a junior transfer student studying Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis. She has a background in culinary arts and a passion for sustainable farming and enjoys exploring the connections between agriculture, winemaking, and community. Outside of college, she loves trying out new recipes, discovering local food spot.